It looks like the Hialeah Hoodlums — otherwise known as Mayor Carlos Hernandez and his Seguro Que Yes crew of crooked council members –– were recruiting for their criminal enterprise last week.

And they peeled a few members off of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez‘s old G-Men gang.

Campaign Finance Chair and graft master Ralph Garcia-Toledo, shake-down artist Brian Goldmeier and campaign strategist Jesse Manzano-Plaza were all at an event last week for Hernandez’s re-election campaign. Who is that guy to the right? He looks familiar. And just look at how giddy they are to be back in business — stealing ballots, taking money from developers for promised payola later, coming up with narratives to distract from Hernandez’s abysmal record and the chaos the last couple of years at the new fancy smancy water plant.

Just look at those smiles in this photo posted on Goldmeier’s Instagram. They look like a gang of cats that swallowed unos pajaritos zunzún.

Manzano-Plaza must have been the happiest as the event was at Hialeah Park and he is likely back representing casino giant Genting now that the Gimenez campaign is over. He only resigned temporarily (read: not at all) and after he was caught representing both Genting and Gimenez. He is certainly back at work now.

They don’t care that Hernandez is an admitted loan shark and proven liar who abuses his power. This is simply payback for Hernandez’s help getting Gimenez the ballots from residents in Hialeah Housing. Or is it just another public trough for these little piglets (possible gang name: Three Little Pigs). Ladra is going to have to start looking more closely at the water and sewer contracts and public works projects in the City of Progress.

Why isn’t tricky pollster Dario Moreno and Absentee Ballot Fraud King Al Lorenzo there? Did they not pass the gang initiation test?

Read related story: Liquor store owner gets it: Carlos Hernandez is a criminal

Hernandez is running for his third term. The former cop was the council president when former Mayor Julio Robaina left the office to run for county mayor against Gimenez in the recall result race of 2011. He served as acting mayor and then was elected in November 2011 against former Mayor Raul Martinez and former Sen. Rudy Garcia to serve the remaining two years of the term. In 2013, he was re-elected against former Mayor Julio Martinez and an active resident named Juan Santana, who he had harassed outside his home (and that is the kind of behavior that Goldmeier and Manzano are condoning).

Hopefully, this will Hernandez’s his last campaign. Maybe it takes a woman.

2011 at IHOP: Gavelgirl and The Rock were pals

Ladra hears that Gavelgirl herself, Councilwoman Isis Garcia-Martinez — a former Hernandez ally who, las malas lenguas say, has quit the Hoodlums — is going to challenge Hernandez. Ladra never thought she would say this, but You go, Gavelgirl! It ain’t easy to leave the thug life!

Yeah, sure, we’ve had our issues. Garcia-Martinez defended Hernandez all the time. She even went to his famous pancake breafast at IHOP, which was a campaign event paid for by city dollars and exposed by Ladra in 2011.

Read related story: Gavelgirl files false police report

She also had police eject me from a council meeting, had me illegally trespassed from both City Hall, which is a public building, and the campaign headquarters and tried to get a restraining order against me so that I wouldn’t attend any more meetings — or catch her at campaign breakfasts that were paid for by public money. She couldn’t because she had no legal justification.

But the past is the past. Ladra believes she has seen the error of her ways. She’s broken up with the bully, hasn’t she? She is willing to take him on publicly. Last year, she broke with the rest of the hoodlums to support former Miami-Dade School Board Member Raquel Regalado against Gimenez. She certainly isn’t all lockstep, Seguro Que Yes anymore.

So, until anybody else with a better shot challenges The Rock — an admitted loan shark and liar who had the audacity to pay an ethics fine with thousands of pennies — Ladra will be giving Gavelgirl the benefit of the doubt. And our support. What do they say about the enemy of my enemy?

Hashtag I’m with her. We’ll start a rival gang.

One of the great truths of politics is that the devil is in the details. It’s true of almost everything. but it is especially true in politics. Another thing that is becoming clear is that the details are in the committees.

Is it me, or are the Miami-Dade County committee meetings getting more interesting?

This week, we have discussion at the committee level about millions of dollars in contracts, discussions about sea level rise and the cooling canals at Turkey Point, $26 million in new vehicles for solid waste, $2.3 million for road improvements in Doral and the purchase of environmentally sensitive lands in South Dade, just for starters.

We all have to start paying more attention.

Please keep the information about your meetings, campaign events, speakers and what not coming. It’s a lot of work to find out about these things if you don’t tell Ladra — or is that the idea? Well, sorry to spoil it for ya.

MONDAY — March 13

All day — Last day to register to vote for the April 11 election in Coral Gables. You can register online with Miami-Dade Elections here, but if it is your first time registering, you must print out the form and deliver it to the Miami-Dade Elections Department in Doral by 5 p.m.

TUESDAY — March 14

9 a.m. — Coral Gables Commissioners will talk about a recommendation from the city’s school and community relations committee (committees are doing it for themselves!) urging the City Beautiful to “purchase” a classroom at West Lab Elementary School for $4.2 million, ensuring that at least 180 students from kindergarten to eighth grade can attend the school. They will also discuss and could give a preliminary vote to swapping its public safety building — where the police and fire headquarters are located at 2801 Salzedo — to another building in the downtown that will be redeveloped with a parking garage (that’s at 10 a.m. time certain). There will also be a discussion on the Cocoplum bridge project, a report on abandoned properties and an update on the proposed plans for “the Plaza of Coral Gables,” formerly known as “Mediterranean Village.” Commissioner Vince Lago will also ask his colleagues to consider a citywide ban on the distribution of single-use plastic retail bags, which he says contribute to litter and cause environmental problems. The meeting at City Hall, 405 Biltmore Way, will be followed by closed executive sessions with the city attorney on a couple of different lawsuits, including one filed by Starbucks against the city.

9:30 a.m. — The Miami-Dade County Commission’s Infrastructure and Utilities Committee will consider spending $26.5 million on new vehicle leases for the solid waste department and $19.4 million on equipment and products for the information technologies department. They could also spend $1.4 million on air conditioning for the water and sewer department and $60,000 to buy 10 acres of environmentally sensitive lands in Cutler Bay. Also on the agenda for the meeting in commission chambers at County Hall, 111 NW First Street: The January and February monthly reports from Mayor Carlos Gimenez on the ongoing water and sewer projects.

6 p.m. — Retired Coral Gables Police officer Randy Hoff is running for city commissioner and has a cocktail reception fundraiser Tuesday night at George’s on Sunset, 1549 Sunset Drive. Hoff is running for the empty seat vacated by Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick’s move to the mayoral race and he is facing thee other candidates, including Marlin Ebbert, who ran against Vince Lago in 2013. Hoff has spent more than $14,500 of the $24,000 he raised through Feb. 28, so drop a little something in the bucket. Consider it a tip for his 30 years of police service.

WEDNESDAY — March 15

6:30 p.m. — The kick off fundraiser for David Borrero, who is running for a Sweetwater commission seat, starts at 6:30 p.m. at 109 Burger Joint, a popular eatery for some FIU students at 646 SW 109th Ave. The host committee is topped by former Doral Councilwoman Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera and includes such notable young Republicans as Jessica Fernandez, Armando Ibarra, Maria Wadsworth, Juan Fiol, Jose Mallea and Eric Diaz-Padron. Borrero, who worked on the campaign of State Rep. Carlos Trujillo, is running against incumbent Eduardo Suarez — who was appointed in 2015 to fill out the term of Orlando Lopez, who ran for mayor –and Isidro Ruiz, who is one of Lopez’s campaign volunteers. Sweetwater needs some real candidates to straighten that city out. Is Borrero a start?

THURSDAY — March 16

9:30 a.m. — Because mass transit and traffic solutions have become the main subject at every other commission meeting — and MPO meeting, and MDX meeting and CITT meeting — the Miami-Dade Commission’s Transportation and Public Works Committee will be heavy on trains this week. In addition to the reconstruction of the Florida East Coast railroad crossing and traffic control devices at NE 16th Avenue and approximately 131st Street, the committee will also consider the refurbishment or installation of four railroad crossings, at North River Drive, NW 46th and 62nd streets and 22nd Avenue and Ali Baba Avenue in Opa-Locka, with the county paying the annual maintenance of each. Maybe this is a good time to talk about the future development along that rail line? The committee may also approve a $2.3 million contract to Gannett for road improvements in Doral, on Northwest 25th Street from 87th to 117th avenues in Doral, which is Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz‘s district. The meeting is in commission chambers at County Hall, 111 NW First Street.

1:30 p.m. — The Miami-Dade Commission Economic Development and Tourism Committee will consider giving the politically-connected Munilla Construction Management company a one year extension and $6 million more for renovations and repairs at Miami International Airport (specifically something called the e Satellite and the “Federal Inspection Services,” which sounds like Customs. This is not the first time Munilla gets a bump in their contract as far as dollars and time (more on that later). The committee may also approve a five-year, $5.5 million contract with Ricondo & Associates for “aviation planning and master planning services,” which certainly seems like something we should be able to do in-house. They will also get updates on Florida Power & Light’s cooling canals by Turkey Point and the county’s efforts to address sea level rise. Commissioner Rebeca Sosa wants to discuss the Beacon Council’s use of public funds of the county’s business tax revenues. They could also instruct the mayor to look into “best practices” (read: regulations) for hosts with AirBnB and other such home-sharing services, which have come under fire lately (Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado wants to ban the practice in residential neighborhoods). This committee takes over the commission chambers from the last committee.

6:30 p.m. — Learn about how local government works from a panel of real experts at this event sponsored by the Downtown Democrats Club. The horses with mouths here are former Pinecrest Mayor and former State Rep. Cindy Lerner, Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso and Miami Beach Assistant City Manager Susie Torriente. It’s $5 for Downtown Dem members and $15 for non members for the two-hour lesson at the Miami Center for Architecture & Design, 100 NE 1st Ave. Two hours of inside info! This should be good.

Former Miami Beach City Commissioner Michael Góngora will confirm weeks of speculation and file Monday for the commission race in Group 3.

Góngora was a commissioner from 2009 to 2013 in that seat before he ran for mayor in 2013 against Philip Levine. He also lost a race for Florida senate last year, but only because his name did not resonate outside the city. ven though there were five other candidates, he won almost 60% of the vote in Miami Beach and led in every precinct in the city.

“It shows me Miami Beach residents want me back in office,” Góngora told Ladra Sunday night as he left an Equality Florida event. “Now that my former Commission seat is vacant, I have a responsibility to return to office and help work on the issues Miami Beach is facing, which include transportation, development, flooding and mass transit.”

Read reated story: Michael Gongora, Jason Pizzo rack up endorsements for Senate

Gongora said that things haven’t really gotten better since he left office and that perhaps they have gotten worse.

“It’s time to get back to basics,” Góngora said. “Miami Beach has been focused on trying to e a player in the national arena,” Gongora said, referring to the offer of a Cuan embassy, the minimum wage ordinance and Levine’s attention on sea level rise and climate change.

“What we need are clean streets that are not flooded, a safer city, more transparency and financial oversight,” Góngora said, referring to the recent discovery that $3.6 million has been stolen from a city account and wasn’t even noticed missing for six months.

“That’s a huge issue,” he said adding that former Commissioner Deede Weithorn had warned about oversight in the finance department. “Nobody wants to own up to the problem. We’re spending money to study how to tighten up when we know what we need are more people and more oversight.”

Weithorn, former Mayor Matti Bower and current Vice Mayor Kristen Rosen Gonzalez — who has got to be hungry for an ally — are going to host the kick-off event for Góngora’s campaign on March 29, he said.

Read related story: Mike Grieco first to run for open Miami Beach mayor’s seat

The former commissioner is running for the seat now occupied by Commissioner Joy Malakoff, a pocket vote for Mayor Levine who has said she will not seek relection because theres nothing there for her when he’s gone.

Two other candidates have filed paperwork indicating they will run. Adrian Gonzalez has raised almost $7,500 and Cindy Mattson, who hadn’t raised anything as of the last report available, through February.

Góngora definitely enters the race as the frontrunner due to his leadership and likely support from a number of community organizations that he has been involved with for a long time, from before being elected in 2009 until the present. Last year, he was elected president of the Miami Beach Bar Association.

“I am confident the voters will choose my proven leadership and trusted experience to move Miami Beach forward,” Góngora said in a statement.

“I look forward to an energetic and positive campaign, communicating with voters about my vision for our City’s future, improving our traffic and infrastructure, and bringing back residents into government decisions by listening to the people about what their city government must focus on to improve their quality of life.”

Why not run for mayor?

“My personal and professional commitments don’t allow me the increased time and expense to run for mayor again right now,” Góngora said.

“I also believe that once a new mayor is elected this November the de facto strong mayor position will also be a thing of the past and we will go back to a system where the mayor and commissioners have nearly equal authority with regard to governance as one more vote on the commission,” he said in a not so sideways stab at Levine’s style.

“I will be more effective as commissioner as the senior member of the commission with the most years of experience,” Góngora added.

“And Miami Beach needs my leadership now.”

But it’s only one battle. The war may not be over.

One year, a dozen hearings and more than $1 million later, the Bal Harbour Shops have dropped their “conflict of interest” lawsuit against Village Councilwoman Patricia Cohen, who was targeted because she voiced opposition to the mall’s expansion plans, particularly any takeover of the old village City Hall. They said she had nefarious motives because of a relationship with the owners of the competing Aventura Mall.

Oh, and they dropped their insistance to buy the old, historic City Hall structure for the expansion.

Oh, and they’ve downsized about 30 percent and changed the footprint so there’s less of an impact.

This is a win, win, win for la abuelita councilwoman and the Village.

Or is it?

Read related story: Bal Harbour Shops pays for a referendum on City Hall sale

Because this looks like a sneaky subterfuge attack. It is no coincidence that the Shops dropped the suit and changed their stance after growing opposition (and about a month after the original post in Political Cortadito) which include two citizen petitions that are now in court. They want to build a new Village Hall? That means they must have future plans for the current one. Why else would the development agreement include the construction of a new City Hall where on a different Collins Avenue property? They don’t need Village Hall but they’re going to build a new one anyway?

Sounds sketchy.

“We have a Village Hall,” said Brian Mulheren, an activist who believes it indicates that they will come back to buy the city’s historic City Hall at a later date, after the shiny new Village Hall is completed and the old structure is standing next to a Barney’s or a Sak’s or something. It will be much easier then to get the required 50 percent of the voters to approve the sale of Village Hall to the mall.

That’s why the Bal Habour Citizens Coalition is challenging the denial of two petitions, one of which would have asked voters to bump up that voter referendum requirement to 60 percent of the vote. The other petition ask voters to make any expansion of the mall by more than 30 percent dependent on voter approval, also by 60 percent.

In other words, the residents want to have more control in a city where, recent Miami Herald stories show, some residents already control the Village Council. While there was no mention made of the mall in the Herald story about longtime resident Doug Rudolph‘s influence over city electeds and staff, there is reason to believe that he is involved in what is likely the biggest development project in town, if he’s involved in anything.

While two resident petitions to try to stop the expansion have been deeemed insufficient, that decision by the city clerk is being challenged in court. There’s a hearing to expedite that ruling Monday, not just because the Bal Harbour Shops’ plans could go to a vote next month, but also because two of the plaintiffs are over 65.

“The town is basically trying to stifle the voters,” said attorney JC Planas, who represents the coalition of residents. He told Ladra that the village charter does not speak of the requirement the clerk “arbitrarily” decided that the petitions needed. And, really, we’re talking about 200-some signatures here (they only need 10% of the 1,900 registered voters). You don’t think they would be easy to verify? Why wasn’t the coalition told that they needed to have an affidavit or whatever. Seems easy enough. 

From an outsider’s view, it looks like the town would rather face a lawsuit from the residents than another lawsuit from the mall, whose owners don’t want another lawsuit either — at least until after they get their expansion approved. The new plans to add 352,000 square feet of mostly retail do not include any public land. New stores would be built where the parking garage is now and a new parking garage would be built at the site of the Church by the Sea, 9700 Collins Ave., which was bought by the mall last year for $30 million.

This is a far cry from what was presented back then, when the mall’s objective was to incorporate the Village Hall into its footprint. The shops filed a lawsuit against Cohen saying she had nefarious motives to oppose it vis a vis a relationship with the family that owns Aventura Mall. They requested all emails relating to anything or anyone remotely connected to Aventura Mall, which turns out to be a lot. It was a really wide net, but after all the emails were reviewed, it was decided by an independent magistrate that only 19 emails met the public record criteria.

So the lawsuit was frivolous? A way to apply pressure perhaps?

Cohen is not exactly thrilled with the settlement. She is glad that the town isn’t paying for more attorneys. But she would have liked her day in court. “I have not been vindicated,” she said. 

 Thank goodness that the town is not liable for the attorneys fees, after the shops waived that. It’s already cost them nearly $800,000 in legal fees to defend mostly Cohen, who was targeted from the get go because of her vocal questioning of the need for the mall’s expansion and her adamant protection of Village Hall, which is the municipality’s only real historic building.

Read related story: Miami Beach’s loss is Bal Harbour’s gain — Jorge Gonzalez

In fact, the shops should pay that million to the city. And Ladra bets they will — somewhere in the development agreement for the downsized expansion there will be an open space dog park or a trolley loop or turning lanes or $1 million in programming for active seniors or something. Or maybe the new Village Hall is the sum of the bells and whistles for the council to give its go ahead yes.

“Nothing is off the table,” said Village Manager Jorge Gonzalez, who seems to look positively at the new proposal. He says the lawsuit was likely withdrawn to gain favor with the town. “It makes for a cleaner, less hostile environment for the review of this application,” Gonzalez told Ladra.

But a public vote on the matter has been eliminated, now that the mall isn’t using the Village Hall property. All it needs is two votes by the council. Hmmm… ya think maybe that is why they rethought the public town hall?

A community workshop has been set for April 4th to look at the new plans and get community input on what they would like to see. But it’s hard to believe any community input would be meaningful seeing as how the Village Council could vote on this new development plan as early as April 25th. Seems a little too quick after the workshop and while the legal challenge to the petitions is still being heard. It could get its final approval in May.

Which looks like the poine: Beat the residents with the petition.

“They’re trying to do a hit and run,” Mulheren said, noting that both Passover and Easter come between the workshop and the first hearing. “Two hearings and they’ll ram it through. This is a huge expansion of the shops and it means eight to 10 years of construction. The traffic will be worse.

“This will greatly affect our community and our way of life,” Mulheren said.

Ladra’s advice to Mulheren is to simutaenousely gather new signatures with whatever the required criteria was. It shouldn’t be so difficult if you just get signatures from one or two buildings. 

Tucked into the Miami-Dade Commission agenda Tuesday is a little item that will make Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez‘s best friend and campaign finance chair very happy.

One of the multi-million dollar contracts that will likely be awarded lists Ralph Garcia Toledo‘s company as one of the subcontractors. But nobody is going to mention it. Nobody brought up this cronyism at the Chairman’s Policy Council where the contract went up from $11 million to $22 million at Chairman Esteban Bovo‘s request.

Why should they? It’s just part of business at County Hall.

Read related story: Mayor’s BFF is back for another county contract payola

Garcia Toledo already has a piece of another contract, getting paid $200 an hour for mostly clerical work —  up to $18 million in 12 years. For work that could be done by a county staffer. Does that sound legitimate to you?

Now he’s getting more? Why not? If nobody stopped him the first time. 

The resolution is a contract award for $22 million for engineering services to Parsons Brinckerhoff to help the Department of Transportation and Public Works execute projects in its capital improvements plan and implement the all-powerful Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan, including the study and implementation of future technology, such as driverless vehicles.

Ralph Garcia Toledo with the mayor’s daughter in law, Barby Rodriguez Gimenez, at a fundraiser years ago for a Miami commission candidate

GT Construction is listed among the 18 subcontractors. We don’t know what his piece of the pie is. Another $200 an hour? 

The first contract was awarded after Garcia-Toledo helped Gimenez win the 2012 election. He’s due another bite at the apple.

Read related story: Mayor’s pal Garcia-Toledo eats lobster with county staffers

There are two more contracts being awarded, each for $11 million, for the same thing: professional engineering services for the Department of Transportation and Public Works for their capital improvements and the SMART plan. And there are a dozen subcontractors on the other two — one for Parsons Transportation and one for Aecom Technical Services, which is the same company that messed up the reverse osmosis plant in Hialeah but the county still keeps contracting nonetheless.

That makes for 42 subcontractors — or 41, really, since Manuel Vera is on two contracts — who are feeding from this $44-million buffet.

The funds for the contract awarded to Parsons, and from there to Ralph Garcia-Toledo, are coming from the People’s Transportation Funds. Those are tax dollars approved by voters in 2002 when they approved a half cent tax to fund rapid transit expansion.

The dollars used to pay the mayor’s daughter-in-law for the subcontract that the company she is employed in also are taxpayer dollars.

So the mayor is using public taxpayer dollars to help his best friend and his daughter in law and the commission just rubber stamps it? Is that what we can expect for the next four years? 

The Cortadito Calendar will now be published on Monday to give people time to send Ladra the events they have planned for that week. Please keep sending info on your government meetings, campaign events and political powwows to edevalle@gmail.com so we have a full calendar each and every Monday.

This one is our first on a Monday and our first for March. It’s about a month before the next important local election — in Coral Gables. So we have the first candidate forum for those three races on Tuesday.

There’s also a commission meeting at the county, a city council meeting in Doral, a talk about women’s issues, the requested upzoning of a whole stretch of Little Gables, more hand-wringing over the future of North Beach and yet another powerful speech by our esteemed schools superintendent.

So, let’s get on with it.

TUESDAY — March 7

9:30 a.m. — The Miami-Dade County Commission meets to again ratify the awarding of $27.5 million to five companies for engineering services related to the water and sewer consent decree (more on that later), consider changes to the annexation and incorporation process, approve $1.8 billion in expenditures for building supplies for mulitple departments and designate an area of Miami Gardens as blighted so they can create another community redevelopment agency for their friends to raid. They will also consider giving yet another no-bid contract to a vendor who wants to open up at Miami International Airport and awarding a $1.5 million contract to Perez & Perez Architects for revisions to the 2008 11th Judicial Circuit Courts and corrections facilities master plans. And they will get a report on a plan to develop and maintain several county owned properties in the downtown Miami area, coincidentally or not including Cielito Lindo, the historic courthouse that needs to be redeveloped or replaced.

6 p.m. — The first of at least two scheduled debates for the candidates in Coral Gables begins at 6 p.m. at the University of Miami’s Fieldhouse, 1245 Dauer Drive (next to the Watsco Center). This “forum” put on by the Gables Chamber of Commerce every election consistently turns into a lively debate. Each group will be given 50 minutes, moderated by WLRN’s Vice President of News Tom Hudson. The first up will be the four candidates for the open seat, vacated by Jeannett Slesnick‘s move to the mayoral race. The second group will be incumbent Pat Keon against former Commissioner Wayne “Chip” Withers and the last will be the headliners, the mayoral candidates, Slesnick and former Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli. Residents can submit questions online at events@CoralGablesChamber.com or in person on 4X6 cards that will be made available. Scheduled to end at 9 p.m.

WEDNESDAY — March 8

10 a.m. — The Doral City Council meets Wednesday and on the agenda is the $2.4 million contract for paving and stormwater improvements to H&R Paving, the purchase of 25 police vehicles for $600,000, the negotation of two contracts for towing services in the city, and the creation of a partnership with Baptist Health South to jointly develop a wellness program at Doral Legacy Park. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. at Doral City Hall, 8401 NW 53rd Terrace.

6 p.m. — Women will unite to talk about issues near and dear to them at an International Women’s Day panel Wednesday that will touch upon reproductive rights, workplace equality and religious discrimination. Among the panelists are Maggie Fernandez, director of the Miami-Dade League of Women Voters, Latinas for Trump co-founder Denise Galvez, Safespace Board Member Alicia Consuegra and former Miami-Dade School Board member and one-time mayoral candidate Raquel Regalado, who has been consipcuously quiet on a lot of issues lately. The panelists start their discussion at 6 p.m. and will be there through at least 8 p.m. at La Palma Restaurant, 116 Alhambra Circle.

THURSDAY — March 9

11 a.m. — The Miami-Dade Commission Chairman’s Policy Council will hear presentations from both Lowell Clary, the FDOT’s former assistant secretary for finance, and Miami-Dade Expressway Authority Executive Director Javier Rodriguez before they discuss the possible financial avenues for transportation projects, specifically MDX funds, PTP funds, tax increment financing and community redevelopment agencies. Seeing as how this is Chairman Esteban Bovo‘s special committee for all the important stuff, it stands to reason that this is a preview of what we might see be presented at a future commission meeting.

6:30 p.m. — The Westchester Community Council will have a public hearing Thursday to consider a land use map change for 4.5 acres west of LeJeune from 9th to 16th streets from low density residential (2.5 to 6 dwellings per acre) to medium density (13 to 25 dwellings per acre). This is an area of unincorporated Miami-Dade that is called Little Gables and could be annexed into the City Beautiful. The council could make recommendations to the county’s planning department and commission at the end of the hearing, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Ruben Dario Middle School, 350 NW 97th Ave.

7 p.m. — Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who once was thought of as a potential Miami-Dade mayoral candidate and could be again for 2020, is speaking to the members of the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations at their meeting Thursday. Carvalho heads the fourth largest school district in the U.S., with 346,000 students and 52,000 employees. He is expected to talk about issues related to Kendall area schools. The meeting is at the Kendall Village Center’s Civic Pavilion in front of the Regal Cinema box office, 8625 SW 124 Ave.

FRIDAY — March 10

8:30 a.m. — Miami Beach North Beach Master Plan Steering Committee meets at the Normandy Shores Golf Club, 2401 Biarritz Drive. These are the people charged with turning the sleepy northern end of the city into a more bustling second or third “downtown” area. It includes the two-block Ocean Terrace, a slower, older version of Ocean Drive (ala 1988) where voters turned down a huge tower development in 2015. The steering committee is tasked with finding ways to revitalize the neighborhood and spur redevelopment while maintanining the pedestrian-friendly, modest, walkable scale that makes it one of the last vestiges of beachside old Florida.